An American Apocalypse

Welcome to the zombie apocalypse, kind of. It’s not exactly how any of the movies showed it, but you’ll understand soon. Remember that story of a guy who got super high on bath salts and attacked people forever ago? Well, picture that, but throw in some aggressive flesh-eating bacteria. That’s basically what these “zombies” are. One thing that is different about them is that they are limited by who they were before, so you basically have your average American who can’t feel pain and wants to eat other people really badly. And the best part, they have an expiration date; their bodies start to decompose as if they were dead and eventually, the muscles and tendons break down and they just fall apart. Or, some other bodily malfunction stops them from continuing their rampage. Fun, right?

Now, we don’t really know how this all started, but thanks to the internet, we know exactly how it’s going. #ZombieApocalypse has been trending for six months now and not everyone handled it the same. There are the people who are sharing survival tips and showing what they think is the best way to navigate the infested outside world, I’ve seen a lot of live stream deaths this way. There are those who are trying to bring some semblance of normalcy, whatever that means, by avoiding the topic of Zombies at all costs. They don’t usually last very long. The idiots who treat the whole thing like an opportunity to go viral, doing stupid things like running through a Murder of Zombies or standing in the open with their eyes closed for as long as they dare, playing the ultimate game of Chicken. All dead. And let’s not forget the nonbelievers, the ones who yell “it’s a hoax, everything is fine, the government it trying to control your life, blah blah blah.” These people were the first to go. What. A. Shame.

Those of us who are left are the one who actually use our brains. Sure, when we were bored, we’d watch the rather entertaining swirl of content, but we didn’t bother posting. Not only is it a waste of time, but it’s a huge distraction. That’s why there is a lot less new content these days, those who bothered are all dead now. However, we did get an estimate of the death toll recently, about sixty-three percent of the human population, SIXTY-THREE PERCENT! And our parents thought the COVID pandemics were bad. We also figured out that Zombies expire approximately twelve to sixteen weeks after infection, and that there needs to be a transfer of any bodily fluid for someone to get infected, including spit in the air. Sound familiar? Fun fact: it can take anywhere from one to FIVE weeks for symptoms to start. That’s it. That is all we know, because scientists and doctors keep dying too; no one is safe. And this is where my story really starts, so buckle up.

Let me introduce myself; my name is Ember. Well my apocalypse name is anyway. About two months ago, some random got a video of me taking down a Murder of Zombies using gasoline and a match while on a supply run. The internet loved it and decided to change my name for me. Oh, and they also decided calling a group of Zombies a Murder was way more fun the Hoard or something along those boring lines. I liked both names, so they stuck.

I’ve been holed up most of the last six months with my co-workers in our office building, because that’s where we were when things really hit the fan. We’re a weird group of seemingly useless humans who managed to keep each other alive so far. There’s me, the average American women in my mid-twenties who is basically a walking existential crisis, especially now. Dave, the gamer guy in his late 30’s with no ambition until death was literally at his door, and is now putting his random game knowledge to use by helping us successfully go on supply runs. Silas is our weirdly cool and seemingly ageless IT guy who has managed to keep us connected to the world outside our building (sometimes). And then there’s Andy, the sentimental one who is about to get us all killed.

“No, Andy.” I sigh, I swear they will be the death of us.

“Who put you in charge again?” Andy asked in a way only Andy could, looking down on me with respect. It’s weird.

I couldn’t see it, but I felt Silas’s eye roll from across the room, “We did, Andy. Ember is the only one brave enough to make Dave’s ridiculous Zombie killing plans happen, and someone needed to be our leader.”

“There is a big difference between bravery and just lacking fear. And you’d think the one without fear would be all for it.” Andy had a point about the lack of fear, but their plan was ridiculous.

“I still have a sense of self preservation, even if I don’t now why. And attempting to travel from San Jose to Big Timber Montana to see your family, that may not still be alive if we get there, is basically the opposite.”

“I think we should take a vote.”

“Thank you, Dave, let’s.” The smug look on Andy’s face tells me they know how this vote it going to go. And I’m not surprised Dave is helping, we haven’t heard from his twin sister in months, and if the roles were reversed, he’d want the same from Andy.

“Let me guess, I’m the only heartless one who will say no?” the looks on their faces told be all I needed to know, “alright, let’s pack up.”

Andy wants to see their family, and I get it; they finally got word a few weeks ago that their mom and siblings are still alive, and since their family is the only one we’ve heard from in months, we’ll go to them. But we haven’t heard from them since. Who knows what’s happened.

“Silas, we’re about to travel through several zombie infested states with limited storage. You don’t need four pairs of shoes.”

“Dave has a point, for once. How do you even have so many shoes, we’ve been stuck at work for six months?” I had to ask, its something we’ve all been wondering.

“I pick them up on our supply runs when you guys are distracted. I though four was reasonable since I have 16.” Silas’s nonchalance is truly the rock that holds the crazy together.

“How about we pack the essentials first, then see what kind of space we have for extra stuff.” I suggest as the only reasonable person here.

“Fine.” They all groan simultaneously.

The next day consisted mainly of going through all our supplies, deciding what we really needed, and loading up Dave’s SUV. It was the only vehicle that would fit all four of us and all our stuff. Plenty of food and water was packed first, then went first aid, extra clothes, one pair of extra shoes each, and a couple of tents. After that, we packed every piece of emergency supplies you can think of: flashlights, matches, maps, batteries, flares, and a whole lot more. There wasn’t much room after all that, but we each decided to grab a couple personal items, just in case we didn’t come back. I had a book and the last gift my mother gave me before she got sick; Silas had his shoes; Andy had their favorite desk plant and the few photos they had; Dave only had the photo of his dog that never left his wallet.

“Why don’t we have any real weapons?” asked Silas.

“Maybe because there’s no weapons store within our supply run radius.”

“Really, Dave? I had no idea.” Silas snapped back. The bickering between him and Dave never seemed to end.

“Boys, come on, we have the hunting knives, which are solid. And don’t forget, we have Ember herself! She’ll burn any zombie who crosses our path to a crisp.” Andy very dramatically interjected. “Speaking of, where are we going to put all the extra gas we need, either for the vehicle or your pyromaniac tendency?”

“The roof, duh.” Silas provides, likes it’s the most obvious solution in the world. He’s not wrong.

After a restless night, we piled into the car and set off for Montana. Fortunately, Dave had an old GPS that still worked; according to that, the drive should take a little over sixteen hours. The first 6 hours of the drive were relatively uneventful; we saw a few Murders of Zombies here and there, but none within a hundred yards of us. If all goes well, we could get there before dark.

When it wasn’t my turn to drive, I watched the ghost of a world pass by my window. Empty buildings and cars, gardens and fields overgrown, and unusually clear skies. If you could ignore the bodies, it might be beautiful.

“It’s so strange that they travel in packs.” Dave thought out loud.

“If you think about it, they are just humans whose brains are degenerating. It makes sense that they’d revert to some basic human instincts. Humans have always been, and apparently always will be, pack animals. Living as one, dying as one.” I had been thinking about that a lot, and I am so glad not to be going through this alone.

“And we really only need to outlive the last Zombie. They don’t live very long; we could do it.” Andy added, ever optimistic.

“Very true.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping, so you can drive next, Emb…”

We all stop dead as we hear a very loud clank from somewhere under the car, the engine groans, and we start to slow down fast.

“Alright everyone, prepare yourselves. Silas, roll up the window, and let’s get out any weapons we have.” I try to stay as calm as I can. Now is not the time to cause panic; I ask “Dave, did we pass any recently?”

“No, but I think a see some up ahead.”

“I don’t think some is the word, Dave!”

“Fine, Silas. There are tons of them, maybe hundreds. And look at that, they’re all heading this way!”

Panic has set in, so I just hope they can control it enough to get us out of here. “Guys, ENOUGH! Andy, find the matches, Dave, help me get the canisters of gas down and Silas, try to get to car started. Now.”

Once we have the Canisters, Andy hands me the matches. With no hope that Silas will get the vehicle started, we set to recreating the moment that gave me my name. We head in different directions to pour all the gasoline we have out in an increasingly large circle around the car. Hopefully it kills enough of them and we can get away when the flames die down. The silence is deafening, like the calm before the storm. I’m about to yell for a check in when I hear a scream that slows down time.

It takes what feels like an eternity to turn around and see Dave being mauled by three zombies, effectively tearing him in half. By the time I realized the scream was from Andy, who saw them coming, time had caught up to me. I sprint from my position on the opposite edge of the circle, knowing I’m to late to help as the next set of zombies reaches Andy, who doesn’t even have time to scream again.

I reach the car to see that Silas had abandoned trying to start it and instead doused it in gasoline. We looked at each other and knew what we had to do next.

With one last deep breath Silas gives me a sad smile.

“Do it.”

I pull out my mother’s locket one last time, glad she didn’t have to experience what became of this world, and light the match.